The 2016/17 edition of the South Island Sunburst Championships was held in Dunedin at Vauxhall Yacht Club over the weekend of the 26th and 27th November.

4 Canterbury boats made the journey, and fared well in the boisterous conditions. Reigning champions Matt & Emmeline Neale (Mt. Pleasant YC) on Moonbeam II convincingly defended their title, ahead of runners-up Craig Tomlinson and James Palleson (Pleasant Point YC) showing good form on Tecary.

Better late than never! the 2015/16 South Island Sunburst Champs were held over the weekend of 20th and 21st February at the Waimakariri Sailing & Power Boat Club on the lower reaches of the Waimakariri River in Christchurch.

With 14 boats representing 6 clubs, and two entrants making their way up from Dunedin, a good representation of the class was present to race for the championship.

Within the confines of the river, racing is usually very close and hard fought, and so it was on Saturday, with the river still receding from high rainfall, and with light winds, tactical sailing by taking clever advantage of the current paid off.

Saturdays 3 races saw 3 different winners, Matt & Emmeline Neale taking a "lights to flag" win in the first race onSunbird, ahead of Murray & Heather Walls on Fun in 2nd, Peter Nees and Peter Wood on Alfresco chasing hard in 3rd.Race 2 saw the first two places swap, with Fun holding out Sunbird, the other Dunedin boat, Roy Roker and Jim Godfrey on Beverly Ailsa taking 3rd.

Rhys O'Cain & Sebastian Belioux-Barpoza on Eagle picked up the third race with a comfortable win over Alfresco, Mike and Jeanette James on Soothsayer sailing well into 3rd place.

At the end of Day 1, Murray and Heather Walls held the lead, 3 points clear of Matt & Emmeline Neale, with Peter Nees and Peter Wood in 3rd, just 2 points back.

Sunday saw the breeze in the high teens, gusting low 20's, and in these conditions the Dunedin boats came home strongly, with Roy Roker and Jim Godfrey on Beverly Ailsa taking Race 4 ahead of the ever-present Sunbird in 2nd, with Alfresco in 3rd.

Race 5 again saw the usual suspects battling for the lead, Sunbird defending a narrow lead for the win, followed 7 seconds later by Alfresco, who were revelling the breeze. Fun picked up 3rd, recovering well from their DNF in the previous race (spinnaker trouble).

Race 6 looked to be going to Alfresco, before a slick pass under spinnaker right before the bottom mark on lap 2 (of 3) saw the Neale's on Sunbird slip through and extend around the last lap for another win and the overall championship.

Racing throughout the fleet was incredibly close (as is usual on the river, even more so for the Sunbursts!), and kept the race committee on their toes, especially as the Firebugs were sailing their South Islands on the same course, along with some Opti's, P's, Starlings, a couple of Zephyrs and a classic Moth for good measure!

Alfresco picked up a well-deserved the handicap win, with Fun taking the trophy for Best-Presented Boat & Crew.

Pleasant Point Yacht Club again played host to the Canterbury championships, held over the 13th and 14th of February 2016.

With racing starting early in the morning due to the tide, the fleet was expecting some delays, and the high likelihood of variable light winds.

Saturday delivered on this in spades! After an onshore postponement, a few boats ventured bravely out in a veritable drifter, before a tenuous Southerly rippled across the upper reach of the estuary directly out from the Pleasant Point Club.

With 6 races planned, all races to count, and 4 races were needed to get a series, a race was duly started in what seemed a light but stable southerly breeze. Several boats got to the top mark, before the breeze died, leaving the entire fleet drifting to (and then past!) the various marks. A couple of crews played inadvertent bumper boats, whilst the more canny "anchored" using their centreboards to avoid being pushed too far off course!

Picking small zephyrs of breeze, the fleet gradually nosed their way around the course to a result, although 3 boats were unable to finish.

Race 1, completed with mere minutes to spare, went to Paul Duder and Ian Douglas on 1563 Bad News, Peter and Catherine Shanks on 1059 Solar Flair took 2nd, with Ross Dawson and Kate Matson on 1525 Ripper in 3rd.

There were a few half-hearted grumbles about the conditions, but everyone was glad to get off the water!

Sunday bought a light easterly, and with the course set out in the deeper area of the estuary adjacent to South Brighton, it was "game on", with a number of boats vying to get redemption for Saturday's lottery.

Incredibly, 4 races were squeezed into the short time available, with Murray & Heather Walls dominating, picking up 3 straight wins, Peter and Catherine Shanks sailing well to pick up the 4th.

Further back, Ripper nailed two second places, whilst defending champions Matt and Emmeline Neale on 1668 Sunbird sailed consistently in the top 4, with past champions Craig Tomlinson and James Palleson on 1816 Tecary also putting in a strong showing.

As the fleet headed back to shore, the mental arithmetic had become too hard, with a number of boats in the running, and the maths was left to the RO to sort out.

A 5.7 magnitude aftershock, just offshore from the club, was a rather dramatic way to introduce the results announcement, and the sums having been done, revealed that Paul Duder and Ian Douglas on 1563 Bad News had done enough, with 17 points, to take the Championship. They were followed by a group of 3 tied on 18 points, which was sorted on countback with Murray and Heather Walls on 1632 Fun in 2nd (clearly disadvantaged by their DNF in race 1), Ross Dawson and Kate Matson putting in a good performance on 1525 Ripper in 3rd and Matt and Emmeline Neale on 1668 Sunbird in 4th.

Entry Fee• Entry fee of $30 for both days or $20 for one day.• Boats also to have paid the Canterbury Sunburst Association Fee of $5 (this is covered if your boat is registered with the NZ class association).

The new season is almost upon us, and it would be great if we can all get out and support each other's club opening days this season. With both Nationals and South Islands being hosted on Canterbury this year, having lots of boats out racing will be a great opportunity for everyone to get involved and get up to speed early! Sunday 6th September - Pleasant Point Yacht Club Opening of season and new ramp at 1030, race start at 1110. Saturday 12th September - Waimakariri Sailing & Power Boat Club Opening race starts at 1400 Sunday 20th September - Mount Pleasant Yacht Club First race starts at 0935 See you all there!

The Annual General Meeting of the Canterbury Branch of the NZ Sunburst Association will be held at the Kaiapoi Working Men's Club on Sunday 14th June at 6pm. Prize-giving & meal for those interested will follow.